(written by Rising STAR, Meryssa)

Hey readers it’s Meryssa!

Today’s blog is about procrastination, the thing everyone does at least once in their life (including me). Procrastinating is my worst habit. I do it all the time whether it’s studying for a test or passing in a project. Procrastinating makes me very stressed out because on top of writing a ten page paper (or whatever you have due tomorrow that you haven’t started) you have all the homework that is due on the same day. When you procrastinate you get less sleep because you have to stay up late to finish everything on time, which in turn makes you really groggy the next day (at least that’s what happens to me).

What makes it a little easier for me not to procrastinate is to put up little sticky notes to remind me when stuff is due. I even got a mini dry erase board to make a list of stuff that I have to do and then when I get something done I erase it (it makes you feel less stressed and accomplished when you see the list getting smaller and smaller). Another thing I do is keep a daily planner to list all of my homework, due dates for assignments, appointments, and important dates such as birthdays so I never have an excuse for forgetting something. With having a daily planner I have learned to write in pen because if I write in pencil I can erase things I don’t want to do. My suggestion is if you want to use a planner, write in pen so you can’t trick yourself into not doing something because you want to go out with your friends. I also let my foster mom know when I have a project and I let her know when it is due. This may seem a little useless but it really helps because then she can remind me to work on it a little every day so I don’t have to cram to do it in one day (trust me this really works).

I hope these few tricks that I use will help you not to procrastinate. Trust me, life is a whole lot less stressful when you don’t have to be up until midnight doing something that is due the next day because you put it off until the last minute. If you have any ideas or if these tips worked (or even if they didn’t) feel free to leave me a comment. If you have any suggestions or a topic that you would like to read about in my next blog, leave me a comment and I will do my best to help you out.

Remember don’t wait until the last minute to do something!
Meryssa